Indigenous healing
December 01st, 2021
Award-winning children’s Indigenous author, Nicola I. Campbell has written her first book for adults, Spílexm: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence (HighWater $32) that tells of her journey to overcome colonial trauma through traditional healing and wisdom, as well as her art. Spílexm is a word from the Nłe7kepmx language that roughly translates to ‘remembered stories’, or ‘events and news’. These stories are often shared over tea in the quiet hours between Elders. “If the hurt and grief we carry is a woven blanket, it is time to weave ourselves anew,” she says. “We can’t quit. Instead, we must untangle ourselves from the negative forces that have impacted our existence as Indigenous people.” Nicola’s book Shin-chi’s Canoe (Groundwood, 2008), illustrated by Kim LaFave of Roberts Creek won the 2009 TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Award for illustration. 978-1-55379-935-1
Shin-chi’s Canoe was a finalist for the Governor General award for illustrated children’s books.